


In a Land Far Away

by Script_the_Skeleton



Series: Hyrules Across the Ages [5]
Category: Linked Universe - Fandom, The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: Adventure, Amnesia, Angst, F/M, Found Family, Once Upon A Time AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-15
Updated: 2020-03-01
Packaged: 2021-02-25 21:47:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,507
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21812398
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Script_the_Skeleton/pseuds/Script_the_Skeleton
Summary: Wild was only an amnesiac who knew nothing of his origins for three years until a knock on his door messed up his world. Following someone who claimed to be his sister, he is tossed into a world of heroes and monsters.A LinkedUniverse Once Upon a Time AU!
Relationships: Link/Zelda (Legend of Zelda), Malon (Legend of Zelda)/Time (Linked Universe)
Series: Hyrules Across the Ages [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1308371
Comments: 14
Kudos: 74





	1. Day 0: Forgetting the Forgot

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to Isla on discord for giving me the opening line, sorry it took so long to write this that you probably forgot. But to those who read Delta’s End, the Once Upon a time AU is finally here!

“Once Upon a— Oh Hylia, this sh*t again?!” 

“Link!” Princess Zelda shouted at him, “you need to take this seriously!”

Link shook his head, “I am serious! This is what? The seventh time I’ve had to deal with this nonsense. When will this end!?”

He slammed the desk with his fists at the end of the statement. Zelda jumped a little bit at the noise before she snapped back. 

“You’re not the only one who’s tired of this!” She huffed before going back to her normal calm self, “after this it will hopefully be our last time. Just, do it? Please!”

Link sighed and looked into the lens of some futuristic camera that was currently rolling. He took notice of how it acted like pictobox, but kept moving images. Strange. 

“My name is Link, the Hero of Legend,” he spoke, “we have just received word from the Oracle of Ages, Nayru, that there is a threat, a curse, that will send us all to a different land with no recollection of our lives. But, there’s hope, apparently.”

He gritted his teeth, “there is a prophecy stating that someone will break the curse. I have no idea who this is, but I swear to Hylia if it is me ag-“

“LINK!”

He didn’t notice that he started to stand up. Link sat down and nodded an apology to Zelda. 

“Sorry,” he said, “we have no idea who this person is, but that’s not our mission. Right now, that is to record our lives in hope of remembering. Nayru told us that there was a way for us to send a message to our future selves, with the help of this camera. Somehow, this information will survive to the new land. So…”

He leaned back in his chair with a smirk, “get ready for a long ride, me. It started one stormy night…”

————— 

“Here’s your meat,” a man of about 20 years of age handed the local butcher what amounted to two bucks of meat. 

“Thank you!” The butcher cried before handing him three jars of honey, “I know you said you didn’t want money, but please take these. My wife has been going crazy about bee farms recently.”

He thanked the butcher, took his reward, and headed to his next location: the library. Here he dropped off books and chatted with the librarian, a 22 year old girl fresh out of college. 

“You’re back!” She exclaimed at the ringing of the bell, “did you like the books?”

He shrugged, they weren’t the books he was looking for. He was looking for something in particular. Something special. 

“Oh,” she frowned, “well, I know you’ll like something someday. But I must thank you again for fixing the bookshelf! It’s stopped collapsing and if you’re looking for more work, I heard the main librarian wants you to build a new table for the reading section.”

He nodded in thanks, “I’ll talk to her about it.”

She smiled and pointing in the directions of the fiction isle, “if you need any help, please ask me. But, I’m sure you know what you’re looking for like always.”

He simply nodded once again and walked to the fantasies. He’s been looking for the book for 3 years and had yet to find it. Who knows what he was looking for now. 

“Before I forget,” the librarian called out after him, “there was a girl looking for you. She was blonde and about 16 and asked for your description. Is she like your sister or something?”

“Don’t have a sister,” he replied in a sad voice, “must be confused.”

That was it. She was looking for someone who looked like him. He wouldn’t be so lucky that someone from his past would finally come. 

After picking out another five books or so, he went to the next destination. He went to the grocery store to buy some ingredients that would go with his new found honey. 

While shopping, he felt oddly as if someone was watching him, but when he turned around he saw no one. He tried to think nothing of it, he silent held onto his pocket knife when he walked home after. 

Arriving at his apartment, a small one with only a bedroom, a bathroom, and a kitchen/living room, he put away he food. He sat on the couch and flipped open his books. 

He grabbed a few fairy tales and felt as if he was close to finding the book he was looking for. Maybe something less weird, or less moral heavy. When he read Harry Potter, that was a close match, but it wasn’t right. Soon, though, he would find it. 

After a couple minutes of reading, the apartment’s buzzer went off. 

“Uh, hello?” An unfamiliar girl’s voice chimed, “is this working? Excuse me, do I have the right place?”

He got up and talked back, “I don’t want any cookies, sorry.”

“It is you!” The girl screamed, “wait? Cookies? Wha-“

He turned off the machine, cutting her off. Girl Scouts came all around this time of year, but he preferred to make his own food. He went back to reading. 

Not even a minute later, he heard thumping coming from the hallway, like someone was running. Then, there was someone banging on his door like a maniac. 

Silently, he got up and grabbed one of his nearest weapons, not caring what he was now holding. He turned off the lights and slowly opened up the door a tiny bit. This wouldn’t be the first time he was attacked in his own home, he’s had three robberies all targeted at him. 

“Who’s there?” He asked, adding a growl to scare them. But the person did not scare easily, instead they responded in a cheerful voice. 

“I finally found you!” The same girl from before cried, “I was scared I would miss you.”

“Who are you?” He opened the door a little more to see a girl of 16 in a green hoody with blonde hair and bright blue eyes. 

“You’re my brother,” she said matter of factly and pushed her way into the apartment. 

“What? Hold up, kid!” He turned to see her turn the light back on and look around his place. 

“This is neater than I expected,” she mused, “you barely have anything.”

“Kid,” he groaned, “who are you? I don’t have a sister!”

She looked in his direction, her eyes trailing to the crossbow that he had picked up, “my crossbow! You had it the whole time? Where’s its pair?”

She went to grab the weapon, but he pulled it out of her grasp. 

“C’mon!” She huffed and crossed her arms, “I have been looking for my crossbows for nearly two years at this point.”

“Who. Are. You?” He repeated. 

She frowned, “I’m not actually your sister, but my brother considered you his brother, making you my brother in turn.”

“And who is this ‘brother’?” He glared, “last I checked, I’m not that close to anyone.”

Her eyes sparkled, “that you remember!”

“What?!” She knew about that?

She nodded, “three years ago, you were found on the side of a highway, you couldn’t remember anything about yourself or your life. All that you were found with was a piece of paper that said ‘Look for the book, Wild’. They assumed that was your name.”

He, Wild, stepped backwards, “you could’ve read about that in the paper’s. That proves nothing that I’m your so called brother.”

“What if I told you,” she rocked on her heels, “that I had the book you were looking for.”

Wild narrowed his eyes at her, “I don’t believe you. You haven’t even told me your name.”

“It’s Linkle,” Linkle answered, “but I have the book.”

“Where is it?” Wild asked. 

Linkle grimaced, “that’s the thing, I didn’t want to lose it while I was looking for you, so it’s back home.”

Wild rubbed his head, “where is your home?”

She murmured something. 

“Speak up, please.”

“Maine…”

“Maine!?” Wild nearly shouted, “how did you get here?”

“I took the bus,” she answered, “took forever, but it was the quickest I could do.”

Wild rubbed his face, “how are you getting back? Where are your parents? Your brother?!”

Linkle stuttered out, “he’s back there. And I don’t know… I used all my money on a ticket here.”

He sighed, “give me your parents number.”

“I don’t know it.”

“Brother’s?”

“No.”

“Do you even have a phone?”

“No.”

“You came all the way out here without a phone or knowing numbers!” Wild groaned. 

“I didn’t need them,” Linkle smiled, “not when I know you’d protect me. You may not remember me, but you’re still my brother!”

Wild pulled up a website on his phone, “I’m buying you a ticket for the next bus back to Maine.”

“No!” She screamed, “you have to come with me!”

“Would you rather me call the police and tell them you ran away?”

She thought it over for a moment before smiling, “but you wouldn’t let a young girl on a bus leading out of the city all alone. That could be dangerous for someone like me.”

Wild froze, she was sadly right. He slammed his hand into his head. 

“Have you ever ridden on a motorcycle?” He already regretting asking at the sight of the stars in her eyes. 

Hours later, it was midnight after a long drive on his bike and they rolled up in Linkle’s hometown of Legends’ Hollow, Maine. He pulled up and stopped in front of a peculiar clock tower. Getting off, he removed his helmet and Linkle’s. 

“Now,” he huffed, “it’s been a long day. Where do you live?”

“I can get there on my own,” she explained, “I’ll meet you tomorrow back here and we can discuss.”

“Hold on,” Wild waved his hand, “I’m not staying, you haven’t even given me any proof of your claims.”

She paused, “what if I told you I also knew you’re real name?”

She better be telling the truth, Wild glared. He always thought Wild was a stupid name. 

“Perfect,” she clapped her hands together, “you should go to The Stable Inn for the night. I’ll tell you your name tomorrow.”

Before he could protest, Linkle ran off in the distance. He looked around and saw that the town was practically deserted, except for one building with its lights on. The sign on it was barely legible and luckily it was the inn she spoke of. 

He sighed, he couldn’t drive all the way back home at this time of night. He was going to sleep, have a quick meet up with Linkle, and then he was out of there. 

Going into the stable he found a man behind a counter. The inside, true to its name, was based off a horse stable, with decorations of horse shoes and hay lofts. There was even an actual stable visible through a window. 

“I would like a room for the night,” Wild spoke to the man. 

“A costumer!” The man bolted up, “we don’t get a lot of you out here. Outsider? How long are you staying?”

“One night,” he answered, “how much?”

He payed and thanked the man. He headed to his room and crashed for the night. 

That night he had weird dreams. He was dressed in an old medieval blue tunic and stood at attention beside a woman, a princess by the looked of it. She was sitting quietly at a table full of screaming people. 

“We have to do something about this!” A knight slammed his hands on the table, “we have received clear warning from the goddesses of what to do and we’ve waited too long.”

“Is it really clear?” A diplomat shouted back, “all it said was evil is coming and our only hope is two children!”

Wild noticed the princess tense up. He also felt anger build up in him, though he didn’t know why. 

“Enough!” A man who sat beside the princess, a king, commanded and ordered them to be quiet, “my daughter will train more hours until she unlocks her blood right. While she does that, her knight will also train, night and day.”

“Yes, Father,” the Princess whispered. 

“Yes, your Majesty,” Wild said against his will. He felt distain and hatred against the king; he seemed like a prick. 

“Good,” the king stood up, “meeting adjourned.”

The room emptied, leaving just Wild and the princess. Once everyone was out of sight, the princess broke down crying. He stood still, wanting to comfort her, but something forced him not to.

She sobbed for a couple of minutes before collecting herself. She stood up and glared at Wild. He was shocked by the ferociousness and disgust that he saw in her eyes. It seemed no one like anyone here. 

“If you tell anyone about this,” she pointed at him, “you will be severely punished.”

He nodded. 

She sighed, “why even bother. You’re incapable of speaking!”

He said nothing. He dutifully followed the princess out of the room and the dream ended once he hit the door. He wouldn’t remember a thing of this dream. 

He woke in an awkward sleeping position with his hair covering his face. Groaning, he picked himself up and got dressed in the same clothes as yesterday. Should’ve brought an extra pair he thought, but he liked his blue hoodie all the same. 

He grabbed what little he had and looked out the window. Linkle was standing right next to his motorcycle and waved at him when he was too slow to close the curtain. No way to avoid this. 

“It’s just a short meeting,” Wild whispered to himself as he left the inn, “with a delusional girl. You’ll be back to your house in no time.”

“Wild!” Linkle smiled, “you came!”

“You’re next to my ride home,” he pointed out, “and I do keep my word. Now, will you keep yours?”

She nodded, “yup! But not here…”

She looked over his shoulder and Wild followed her glance. Staring at them was a man in a black suit with a hood that covered his face. He was just standing there across the street, not even the wind moving him. 

“Who’s-“ Wild started to ask when Linkle grabbed his hand and started walking downtown. 

“I’ll explain everything!” A mighty big claim for a girl he didn’t even know. 

He was dragged to a back alley that was dully lit. There was evidence that someone lived there, a blanket and a pillow leaning against the wall, but they were the only ones there for now. 

“So,” Wild crossed his arms, “where’s the book?”

Linkle beamed as she pulled out leather bound book and handed it to him. It had gold detailing and embroidered green leaves. The title on the book was ‘The Legend of Zelda’ and there was no author listed. 

He couldn’t explain it, but holding it made him feel like this was it. A fantasy book of legends was what he was looking for. How would that help him, though, and why was he told to find it? 

“Well,” Linkle interrupted his thought, “ya gonna look at it? The inside, I mean.”

Wild huffed and flipped the book open. The index was split between individual stories called things like ‘Skyward Sword,’ ‘Twilight Princess,’ or ‘Breath of the Wild.’ Going through the pages revealed different art styles depicting the same hero in green fighting various monsters. It was a standard fantasy book that held many wonders, until…

“What happened to this story?” He pointed to the second to last story of the book, Breath of the Wild. Only the title page remained, a watercolor of some mountains and trees, and the rest was ripped out. 

“I don’t know,” she admitted sadly, “it was like this when I got it and I couldn’t find the pages when I went looking. So, what do you think? Was this the book? I know you felt something.”

She looked smug, like she solved every problem in the universe. Wild wasn’t going to give her the the satisfaction until she explained some things. 

“Where did you get this and how do you know if this is the story?”

“Classified and it’s obvious!”

“Not to me.”

She groaned and took the book back. She flipped to the final story, named A Linked Universe, and pointed to a drawing of a knight talking to a man in the blue tunic. They were in an argument and both sides were getting angry. Linkle directed his attention to the man, who looked picture perfect to Wild. 

“Did someone I know write this book?” He took it back, “did your brother? Is that why this character looks like me.”

“No,” she roll her eyes, “this character looks like you because he is you.”

He raised an eyebrow, “this is a book of legends.”

“Yeah, and they’re all real.”

“Ohh-kay,” he closed the book, “well, it was nice meeting you-“

“I’m not crazy!” She stomped her foot, “just let me explain.”

He leaned against the wall as she told the strangest story he had ever heard. It was even stranger than the fact that he woke up one day in a hospital with no memories and was told that his name was Wild of all things. 

“So,” she started, “everything in this book is real. All these legends about a hero fighting a monster and protecting a princess happened. The hero reincarnates into the next story as a different hero. This happened for a long time before another villain showed up. Her name was Cia, and she wanted to have the hero for herself, so she opened up time portals to everywhere in the timeline to him.”

“This is a long story.”

“It’ll be longer if you don’t shut up! Anyway, it turns out that Cia was being controlled by a man named Ganondorf, the villain in most of these stories, so that she would resurrect him. Long story short, she was defeated, but the damage was lasting. The different time periods were now connected closer than ever and everything was merging. It got even worse when a figure named Dark Link, who worked for Ganondorf, appeared. He took advantage of the times being connected and planted a curse.

“Know one knows why he did it, but the curse was meant to affect everyone, anywhere, any time, and erase their memories. They would all be implanted with new ones and dragged away to a different world without magic. Luckily, thanks to some oracles, everyone was aware of what would happen. A sorceress named Lana traveled to the different times and warned all of the Links of a prophecy made of someone who would break the curse. She also told them to find away to preserve their memories so they could remember in the new world.”

Wild’s mind was overwhelmed. That was a long story, but was she seriously implying…

“What does this have to do with me?” He was getting anxious, he was here too long. 

“Ain’t it clear,” she flipped to the last page, one showing the curse taking affect as it swallowed multiple countries whole, “the curse happened. Everyone in this town are living fake lives and are actually heroes and princesses.”

What? This girl was nuts. 

“Do you think this is true because of my amnesia?” Wild stepped forward. 

“No, but it makes sense,” Linkle pointed to her head, “in the book, your time was so far away from the others that the curse just barely touched you. It didn’t actually work, so it sent you to the wrong place and with no new memories, just amnesia.”

“Am I being scammed?” He glared, “are you trying to rob me.”

“I am going to scream!” Likewise, he thought. “Just ask anybody in town what happened to them four years or more ago. No one will answer you, because the curse only happened three years ago. Everyone just think they’ve been here their whole lives!”

“I’m going home,” he started to walk away, ignoring Linkle as she tried to get his attention. 

“Wait, please,” she cried, “you have to help me. You aren’t affected by the curse, so you’re the only one I can turn to to help me break it! Please, I need to save my brother, your friend.”

“What does your brother think of this?” They were back on the main road, “isn’t he worried about you.”

She frowned, “the thing is, I don’t know who he is. I am also apart of the curse and all I know from reading is that I mention having a brother who is friends with the Hero of the Wild, that’s you.”

Wild shook his head as he made it to his motorcycle, “just a few coincidences, cause I am no hero. You really should be getting help for this believing in fairy tales thing.”

“It’s true! Don’t you want to know your name? I read it in the book.”

He froze and she smirked victoriously. 

“It’s Link,” he felt a spark of recognition, “that’s what all the heroes are called.”

He decided that that was impossible. He was duped into coming here by this girl who somehow found where he lived. Once he got back he would have to move so she couldn’t find him. 

“My name is Wild,” he grunted, “and you’re not my sister, or a sister to a close friend.”

“But-“ she cut herself off as someone new joined the conversation. 

“Is this child bothering you?” The man in black from before walked up to them, hood still on. 

“Mayor,” Linkle spat at him, hand going protectively to her book. Wild looked at the man, the mayor, in confusion as to why he was talking to them. 

“You are violating the restraining order by being here,” the mayor growled, “don’t make me call the sheriff.”

“Restraining order?” Wild looked to Linkle. 

“You walked up to me!” She protested, “that’s not my fault.”

“Run along,” the mayor refused to back down. Linkle huffed and whispered one final thing to Wild before leaving. 

“Please, stay. Just one more day and you’ll see how weird it is here.”

As she left. Wild and the mayor watched as she ran back into the alley that they came from. The mayor looked at Wild and started to speak. 

“My apologies for having to deal with her,” he apologized, “she must’ve dragged you here from out of town.”

“What’s this about a restraining order,” Wild was still looking at where she left. 

The mayor waved nonchalantly, “she broke into my house multiple times and almost released a few of my pets. It was that or she would go to juvenile.”

“Huh,” he muttered, “well, you didn’t have to intercede. I was just about to leave, Mayor…”

“Link,” the mayor took off his hood, “Mayor Link Dragmire.” 

Two things ran into Wild’s brain. One, Link was the same name that Linkle said was both the hero and the villain of the story. Two, the mayor looked exactly like him. While he had black hair and no scaring, the mayor was a mirror image of Wild. 

Link laughed, “I must say, we do look alike. Maybe we’re related.”

Wild shut down the idea, “I have no family. It was nice meeting you, Mayor Dragmire.” 

“Are you leaving town?” Dragmire looked to the road leaving Legends’ Hollow. 

“Yeah,” Wild looked at the glare the man had on his face, “is everything alright?”

“Yes,” his face changed to a smile, “have a nice trip back.”

Wild waved and started driving. This was an odd town, but thankfully he would never see it again. He just wished he could explain the feeling he had when he touched the book and why he was told to find it. 

He was lost in thoughts as he went down the empty road, which is probably why he never saw the wolf coming. His mind bolted awake and he tried to stop his bike from hitting it. Instead, he swerved off the side of the road and hit a tree. 

He didn’t remember what happened next, just a lot of pain as he blacked out and the wolf howling.


	2. Day 1: New in Town

Horses reared as they ran towards the large area of Lon Lon Ranch. The owners looked up from their work with their animals and watched as the cavalry approached. One of the owners raised a hand to the other. 

“Malon,” the man commanded, “go into the house.”

This was Link, the Hero of Time. His real age nobody knew, but he looked to be in his 30s. He was not wearing his usual armor, instead dawning a white shirt that was covered in dirt. He had scars and tattoos on the right of his face that warned everyone not to cross him. 

“Fat chance,” his wife stuck her tongue out at him. 

This was Malon, the fifth owner of Lon Lon Ranch. She was also in her 30s and wore a dress meant to protect her from dirt and the sun. Her smile was cheerful, but no one would dare mess with her less they receive her wrath. 

Link relented to his wife’s wishes and the knights reached them. There were three in total and the leader of the trio spoke. 

“Sir Link,” he puffed up his chest proudly, “you have been summoned by the Queen.”

Link narrowed his eyes, “I thought I was retired. I don’t answer to the Queen.”

“Sir,” the knight explained, “I do not know everything, but I am to believed that you must meet the Queen and she will explain. There are rumors of a prophecy about a dark curse flying about.”

“Rumors?” He knew that was code for ‘this is most definitely happening, it is bad, I am scared.’ “Fine, I’ll go.”

The knight sighed in relief, “thank you, Sir!”

Malon rolled her eyes, another summons. 

“I’ll get Epona,” she bid the knights good day, “this better not take long.”

-

Time whistled as he waiting for the friend of a prisoner to arrive. He leaned back in his chair and saw a usual in the cell and some stranger. He didn’t get payed enough for this. 

He stopped what he was doing when the stranger started to stir. The man groaned and touched his head in pain. He stared at his surroundings, wondering where he was. 

“Rise and shine,” Time stood up and walked to the right cell, “you’ve been asleep for nearly a whole day.”

“Wh- where am I?” He blinked. 

Time smiled, “Legends’ Hallow Police Station. I’m Sheriff Link.”

“L-Link?” He stuttered, “like the mayor? Are you two related?”

“No,” Time frowned, “it’s a fairly common name around here. That man right there is also named Link, but that’s why most of us have nicknames. Most everybody calls me Time. What’s your name?”

“Wild,” Wild answered, “why am I here? I remember crashing into a tree. Shouldn’t I be at a hospital?”

“Strangely enough, you received no lasting injuries from the crash, besides being asleep for a long time. There was still the question of what caused it, though, so that’s why you’re here. In case you were doing something illegal, that is. Plus, you’re an outsider, there wasn’t many places we could put you.”

“I wasn’t drinking,” he defended, “I tried to avoid a w- a wild animal.”

He knew that there were no wolves in Maine, it would just make him look crazy if he mentioned it. 

Time decided to believe, “alright, I’ll let you out now.”

He did just that and unlocked the cell, opening the door enough for Wild to leave. Wild took note of everything in the room, especially the other prisoner. He had dirty blonde hair and soot covering his forehead. The flannel he wore had rips all over it. 

“My bike?” He asked once he was out, “where is it?”

“Destroyed, I’m afraid,” Time handed him a note from the town’s mechanic, “it’s being fixed right now, but it won’t be better anytime soon.”

Wild grumbled, “guess I’m stuck in Maine.”

“It’s a lovely place,” he reassured, “just don’t get on anyone’s bad side or else there’s hell to pay.”

“Sheriff!” 

“Ah, speak of the devil.”

A woman in her 30s ran into the police station. She was wearing overalls and a flannel shirt. Her sleeved were rolled up so anyone could see her muscles and her hair was loosely tied into a ponytail. Her eyes were full of rage and all of her anger was directed to Sheriff Time. 

“What do I owe the pleasure, Malon,” Time put on a false smile, “another one of your animals go missing?”

“The only pig that’s missing from the pen is you,” Malon growled, “you arrested my boy again!”

“He broke the law,” the sheriff shrugged, “simple as that. I assume you’re here for the bail.”

She huffed and noticed Wild, who had been standing there awkwardly during the glaring contest. 

“Who’s this?” She asked, “another boy you wrongfully arrested?”

“I am not a part of this, ma’am,” Wild started to leave. 

“Whatever,” she snapped at Time, “just get me the paperwork. Twilight!”

She shouted the last bit to the boy, who Time mentioned was also named Link, in the cell. The boy, Twilight, bolted up and groaned. 

“I didn’t do anything wrong this time!” He said defensivly. 

“Save it for court.”

Just as Wild made it through the doorway, he locked eyes with Twilight. It was an awkward connection that he was glad was broken when be stepped outside. He was thankfully alone. 

Except for the fact that the mayor showed up at that moment looking very annoyed. 

“Mister…” Mayor Dragmire was startled by his appearance, “I never got your name, but I thought you were leaving.”

“It’s Wild,” he sighed, “and I crashed my motorcycle. I have to stay here until it’s fixed.”

If he didn’t know any better, he would say that the mayor’s expression was one of mirthful glee at his misfortune. He probably imagined it. 

“That’s horrible,” he gasped, “well, let me know if there is anything I can do.”

“It’s alright. Why are you here?”

That was the wrong thing to say. The mayor clenched his hands onto his own arms and squeezed in anger. 

“Your little friend Linkle,” he spat, “broke into my house again last night. No doubt your visit riled her up since the last time she did it.”

“Linkle?” The girl was nuts. “How do you know it was her?”

“I have my proof,” Dragmire started to go into the station, “that I will be sharing with the sheriff. Good day, Mr. Wild.”

“It’s just Wild.”

The door shut before he could correct him. Finally, he was alone, but what should he do now? He could go to the mechanics and check out exactly how bad his bike was. Or travel around. 

He walked, deciding to explore the town since he was trapped there. There were a couple of buildings advertising farms or lobster. Some diners here or there and a library was inside the clock tower. Speaking of, a crowd was gathered around the tower, all talking to each other and looking up. 

“What’s going on?” Wild asked a father who was holding his daughter’s hand. He has fluffy blond hair and wore a green sweater. The daughter had bright blonde hair and wore a blue sundress. 

“Outsider?” The father noted. 

He nodded. 

“This clock hasn’t move for as long as anyone could remember,” the father pointed up, “but it started moving at midnight and now it’s in time.”

“Huh,” the clock was indeed moving and was currently at 7:21, the correct time, “weird.”

“Yeah, this clocktower is a staple of this town,” the father offered his hand to Wild, causing him to notice the falconer’s glove he wore, “my name is Link Sky, but I go by Sky.”

He shook it, “Link really is a common name here. I’m Wild.”

Sky smiled, “this is my daughter Aryll.”

“Hi!” Aryll waved and then tugged at her dad’s sweater, “dad, we’re gonna be late for school!”

He laughed, “losing track of time looking at a clock! Alright, pumpkin. It was nice to meet you, Wild. I hope you like our town.”

“Wait!” Wild stopped him, “do you know where the mechanic is?”

“The mechanic?” Sky gestured down the street, “Minish Street down there and it’s next to the gas station.”

“Thank you,” the two parted ways. Sky was dragged by Aryll in the opposite direction of where Wild was heading. 

Boring as well as strange, Wild thought, if so many people were engaged with a clock moving. In his opinion, the clocktower was a little creepy. It was painted with strange patterns and there were cracks lining it all over. Honestly, he was shocked that it didn’t fall apart completely. 

He took Sky’s directions and found the mechanic’s. It was a building that was mostly openly built with a truck in one parking space and his destroyed bike in another one. Someone was looking at his bike with a clipboard and was taking notes. 

“Hey!” Wild waved and got the man’s attention. 

He looked up. He wore a purple jumpsuit and dark brown boots. His blond hair was tied back with a headband and he had enormous bags under his eyes. He was also less than five feet tall, making him look like a very angry child. 

“What do you want?” He groaned. 

“That’s my bike,” Wild didn’t like how rude this man came off as, “you the mechanic?”

He huffed, “you really did a number on this. Yeah, name’s Vio and I hope you don’t have any plans, cause this will take three weeks to fix.”

“Three weeks?! Why?”

Vio flipped through his clipboard, “I don’t have the proper pieces and equipment. I have to order them from out of town, which will take two weeks. Actually fixing it will take the rest of the time. Come inside with me and I’ll tell you everything in more detail.”

Wild followed him inside the building and Vio went over how much it would cost. He frowned, it was a little too expensive for him, especially since he couldn’t go back to his house and work. 

“My advice?” Vio handed him the paper with the amount that would be owed, “get an uber or get a job.”

He was promptly kicked and the door locked behind him. He turned around to see the window covered by a curtain, but he could hear Vio shouting with someone. There were some crashes, indicating that furniture was thrown around wildly. 

He shook his head, it was none of his business. 

-

Link hated the pompousness of it all. Him having to walk in slowly, bow for exactly ten seconds, and then wait for the Queen to allow him to speak. He thought this was an emergency. 

“Sir Link,” she said in her usual cold way. 

“Your Majesty,” he tried to hide his sneer. She never used to be like this, treating him like they were nothing but allies, but something changed when she became Queen. “Why have I been summoned.”

Queen Zelda spoke, “as I am sure you have heard the rumors, I have to say that they are true. We have received word of a curse that will soon attack.”

Link crossed his arms, “another dream?”

She shook her head, “it was a message from the White Sorceress.”

Queen Zelda gestured to a woman standing beside her. The woman looked confused at being mentioned and reanimated to what he assumed was her natural bouncy self. 

“Call me Lana!” Lana beamed. 

“Lana,” the Queen corrected, “has proven herself to be trustworthy. She is an overseer of time and she saw the threat coming.”

“Yup,” Lana agreed, “I have been traveling to any time period I can reach to tell everyone.”

“What exactly is the nature of this curse?” Link narrowed his eyes. How did they know that this Lana was trustworthy? He didn’t voice those concerns out loud, though. 

“It will rip you away from this land and into another,” Lana looked at her book and held up an image of black clouds, “all the while erasing your memories and replacing them with new ones. It’s an ancient curse, that I thought would never be used, and I don’t know who is behind it.”

Queen Zelda held back a grimace, “there is a prophecy that is floating around, that someone will save us-“

“No.” Link glared, “I am done.”

“We don’t know if it is you!” Lana waved her hands, “there’s just the possibility.”

“Overseer of time?” He asked, “how come you don’t see who’s the hero? Or who will cast the curse?”

“T-they,” she stuttered, “the curse is one that goes to so far a world that I can’t reach or see it. The caster has hidden themself in dark magic, so I know they are there, but not who they are.”

“Sir Link,” the Queen snapped, “I know we had an agreement, and I say that agreement is now null and void. Are you really so selfish that you would risk the lives of everyone you know and more because you are ‘retired’?”

Link’s eyes flared. The Queen realized that she crossed a line, but she wasn’t going to back down. Lana gripped her book close to her chest, afraid of what might happen. 

“You will record your memories and Lana will do something to them that they will exist in the new world so you can find them once more,” she somehow grew colder, “if the time comes and you are the destined hero, you will pick up the sword once more.”

“Not only do you want to go against our agreement,” he closed his fist, “you want me to relive the worst days of my life, just for the chance of me saving you? No.”

He walked away, ignoring the calls of the Queen and the cries of the guard. The sorceress ran along side him. 

“Please,” she held out her book, “there is only a small chance it will be you, but that doesn’t mean you still can’t remember.”

“I’d rather be in blissful ignorance with everyone else,” Link kept walking.

“Don’t you want to remember your wife?”

He faltered a little, “I will always remember her. In this new world, we will come together just like we have in the many worlds I’ve already seen.”

“But that’s the point!” Lana shouted, “this curse is meant to torture us. It will make sure you and your wife will be apart, by altering your memories of each other.”

Her protests fell on deaf ears as Link reached Epona and rode back to the ranch. Curse? That wasn’t his problem and, eventually, he would care even less than he did at that moment. 

-

“You’re still here!” Linkle ran into Wild in the diner. She had been hiding behind the counter from the mayor when she spotted Wild. “I knew you’d stay!”

“I am only here,” he sat down at the bar and looked at a menu, “because my bike crashed. Not because some delinquent wants me here.”

“Okay, boomer,” she rolled her eyes, “I’m not some ‘delinquent.’”

Wild glanced at her as she took the seat next to him, “you broke into the mayor’s house multiple times.”

“He has no proof,” she smirked, “besides, this just proves my theory correct. The curse has stopped you from leaving.”

“Is that right?” He said, not even paying attention. 

“The curse missed you the first time, so now it won’t let you go. You see, no one can leave this town!”

“You left,” he handed the menu to the waitress and ordered eggs. 

“Yeah,” Linkle agreed, “but I have been trying to leave for a year. I found a weak spot in the woods that has already closed itself. I checked it this morning. But you know the clocktower?”

Why was she still talking to him?

“In the book,” she ignored his disinterest, “that clocktower is in the story of Majora’s Mask, and it’s like an omen for bad things. I think it counted down three days and then the moon fell out of the sky.”

“My bike’s fixed in three weeks, not days,” Wild finally got his food, “but that’s more good than bad.”

“Or really bad! Why does it take three weeks? Doesn’t that seem weird to you?”

He shrugged, “what is weird is a kid who believes in fairy tales. Shouldn’t you be in school?”

“I’m running from the mayor, why would I go to school? Just take the book and actually read it.”

She pulled out The Legend of Zelda and set it on the counter. 

“I don’t want your book,” he pushed it back to her, “I understand why you have a restraining order on you.”

She grinned, “you’re just grumpy cause your precious bike was destroyed.”

What? Of course he was! And because of other things…

Ding! The diner’s door opened. Wild looked and saw the sheriff standing there. He was staring right at Linkle. 

“That’s my cue to leave!” Linkle jumped over the bar and ran through the back exit. 

Wild picked up the book too late, “wait, take this!”

He groaned as she was already gone. Time sighed and mumbled ‘third time this month,’ leaving out the entrance to presumably chase Linkle at the behest of the mayor. Wild looked at the woman behind the bar. 

“You let her do that?” He pointed to the back door. 

The woman, her name tag read Telma, “she’s just a kid, what crime is it letting her run from the law.”

“That is literally a crime?”

“Please, you’ve never ran from the cops?”

He couldn’t answer, because he did not know. He hoped not, but he’s done stupider stuff before. Wild shivered at the memory of where he almost beheaded his landlord. 

Ding! The bell ran again, this time the boy from the police station, Twilight, entered. While he looked very tired, he had a satisfied smiled. 

“Twilight, honey!” Telma called out to him, “you just missed your favorite person in the world!”

“And he missed Linkle?” Twilight took Linkle’s spot, “looked more annoyed than when he arrested me last night.”

“The mayor has him running all over town,” she handed him some coffee, “the usual?”

He nodded, “thanks, Telma. And you’re the guy who was in the cell next to me. What’s your name?”

Wild realized he was being addressed, “uh, Wild?”

“So you’re Wild! Nickname?” He questioned, though he didn’t wait for an answer, “name’s Twilight. Welcome to our town, outsider.”

“Why does everyone mention that I’m from out of town?”

Twilight gestured to all of him, “we know who lives here, and you don’t. No one new ever comes. Plus, we all know of Linkle.”

They both eyed the book she left. 

“Sorry she brought you here,” he apologized, “she’s a good kid, just a little ecstatic.”

“She’s told you her theory of the town?” Wild mindlessly touched the cover, fingers trailing the raised text. 

Twilight laughed, “she thinks I’m some ‘Hero of Twilight.’ The fact that my nickname lines up to the book makes me think this is an elaborate prank on her or by her.”

“Y’all talking about Linkle?” Telma returned with some burnt bacon covered in honey, “I will take no slander on her, but she is an odd one.”

Wild was tempted to say something about the weird food choice of Twilight, who already started to dig in, but he honestly wanted to try it himself.

“Who are you in the book?” Wild asked Telma. 

“Some bar keep that helps this one on his journeys,” she pointed to Twilight, “I must say, the resemblance in the drawings is uncanny. If this is a prank, it’s a very detailed and complicated one.”

She walked away to help some other costumers. 

“Linkle’s also a hero in the book,” Twilight took the book and pulled up the chapter of Hyrule Warriors, “we think that it makes her want to help people in real life, while using fictional problems.”

He found a drawing of Linkle in a multilayered cape with two crossbows firing at monsters. The drawing drew attention to a compass that she wore as a necklace, as it shined golden light. 

“That’s why she thought I had her crossbows,” Wild realized. 

“You own crossbows?” Twilight patted him on the back, “you and I are going to get along just fine! But, in all seriousness…”

He leaned near him and looked around. Once he found it safe enough, he whispered with concern. 

“Linkle has been going through some things,” he explained, “I don’t know the full extent of it, but I haven’t seen her as happy as when she told me about you yesterday. To her, you’re some hero that’s come to save her, so, I guess I’m asking, please be nice to her.”

“I don’t know her,” Wild gritted his teeth, “you know she claims she can solve my memory loss? That it’s all explained by this curse.”

“You have amnesia?” Twilight’s eyes widened, “seriously?”

“I was found by the side of the road with a note that said to find a book,” he slammed the book shut, “and she said that this was the book.”

“Is it?”

“I don’t know,” Wild sighed, “but it makes no sense why I would be told to find a fantasy book, and Linkle just goes on with her theories.”

“Regardless,” Twilight shook his head, “you owe no one in this town anything, especially Linkle, but, while you’re here, humor her. Maybe with you here, she’ll see it was all make believe.”

“That is if I see her again,” Wild picked up the book, “but I guess I have to return this. I’ll humor her.”

Twilight smiled, “thanks! And, if you ever need help, feel free to come by the ranch. Me and Malon could always use another pair of hands.”

“Is this if I need help or if you need help?” Wild laughed and waved, “nice meeting you, Twilight, Telma.”

“Come again, soon!” Telma called from the kitchen. 

“See ya, Wild,” Twilight went back to his food, “stay away from the sheriff!”

-

“How was the meeting?” Malon asked as he opened the door. 

“Some monsters gathering near a settlement,” Link lied, “I told the Queen that I wasn’t going to deal with that anymore.”

She huffed, “you can tell me the truth tomorrow, that curse nonsense must have you rattled to think you can’t tell me about it.”

“It has nothing to do with me,” he washed his hands and helped his wife prepare dinner, “they can handle it themselves.”

“Okay,” Malon said uncertainly, “I trust your judgement, Darling.”

“Same to you. Honey?”

“Hm?”

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

-

“Hey, sheriff!” Malon shrieked with loathing. Time sighed as the angry farmer ran up to him. He did not have time for this. 

“Malon,” he frowned, “this is really not a good time.”

“You’re chasing that girl again, I know,” Malon grumbled, “but I’m here because this is getting ridiculous. Arresting Twilight for ‘disturbing the peace’? That was our own land.”

“Complaints were received,” Time explained, “and he was technically off the limits of your ranch.”

“Complaints from the mayor you mean,” she spat, “he has you on a leash, I swear.”

“He’s my boss, I have to listen to him. Now, if you can excuse me. I have already explained all of this this morning.”

Malon huffed, “this is never over until you stop arresting Twilight.”

“Good day, Malon.” He stated bluntly and walked away. 

“Good riddance,” she called after him, “I hope you trip right before you catch the girl.”

Malon faded into the background as Time’s eyes were drawn to the clock. He had heard that it had started once more, but it was still strange to see it moving. The ringing he heard when it struck the hour chilled him to his core. It reminded him of something he heard three years ago. 

The day of the accident. The sound of horns, the flashing lights, a nauseous feeling. He could have sworn the bells of the tower rang that day, but he was told that that was impossible. 

He shook off the thought. That was in the past, it could no longer hurt him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have plans for Vio. I have plans for Time. I have plans for everyone! (Minus Telma, she was added last minute for no real reason, rip)


	3. Day 2: Parole

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TW for nothing explicit, but like Cia Being Cia.

Link remembered that horrible day in the Temple of Souls. The statues of all his past lives, the paintings of him now. It felt wrong being there, perverted almost, and it was all a trap for him. 

He was growing cocky, went over his head. He thought he could take on the world, because, up until then, he had been. So he thought it was no issue to finally take Cia down, and who cared if he did it all alone. 

He faced the worst injuries of his life that day. That monster that had his face nearly killed him, so how was he supposed to feel when Lana told him that Dark Link was back and could do so much more?

“It’s not the Dark Link you fought,” she explained quickly, “those were just clones made with Cia’s magic, this Dark Link was made to reflect what the Hero looked like, but he has his own personality and thoughts.”

“This is just great!” Link slammed his fist into the wall, causing a small crack to form. “Another war?”

“I-I don’t know,” Lana frowned, “I can’t even tell if he is working alone. All I know is that there is a curse and if we don’t stop it…the nightmares of the war are going to look like a joke in comparison.”

A curse that brings the worst nightmares of an entire civilization to life. Just seeing any version of Dark Link would be a nightmare for him. 

He sighed, “what can we do?”

A diary was placed in front of him. It was plain, but held enough space to write his entire life story. 

“Write everything you know,” she told him, “I need to find other Heroes who could help, talk to some oracles who know what I do not. After that…”

She left and Link was left with the chilling laugh of Dark Link in his ears. 

——

“Mr. Warriors?” Dragmire was sitting in his chair, looking over some papers. 

Warriors, an 21-year-old that was so close to finishing parole, looked over at his boss. Warriors wore a black aging suit with a blue tie, the dress code he had to follow while under the mayor was strict. Ever since he managed to get parole, he had been forced to get a job, and the only person who would take him was the mayor. Warriors loathed the mayor, but he couldn’t do anything about it. 

The office they were in was a nice one, with expensive furniture and art everywhere. In a corner was a cage of mice or rats, Warriors could never tell because he never went near them, that were the mayor’s pets. There was a broken chair sitting nearby that was the supposed evidence of a break in. 

“Yes, sir?” He spoke, hiding the distain from his voice. 

“The sheriff has been taking his time bringing that girl in, go get her and bring her to me.”

“Sir,” he was hesitant to speak against Dragmire, “wouldn’t it be better to take her to the sheriff?”

The mayor sat down his papers calmly before glaring intensely at him. His eyes almost appeared red in the low lighting of the room, giving him an ominous look. Warriors shivered. 

“Do I need to call Ms. Cia?” No, anyone but her! “I think I have made myself clear, bring the girl to me.”

“But-“ 

The mayor placed a single hand on his phone, shutting Warriors up. He nodded his head. 

“Y-yes, sir,” he unsuccessfully tried to hide the fear in his voice, “I will find her.”

“Good,” Dragmire smiled and went back to his work, “but I will still be telling Ms. Cia of your attitude and talking back. Keep this in mind for the future, wouldn’t want to get her angry, now do we?”

“Of course, sir.”

As fast as he could without looking weird, he ran out of the room. He closed himself off and ignored any looks that others gave him. If the mayor was serious, which he usually was, he would have to talk to Cia sooner than usual. He was shaking. 

“Hey, mayor’s pet!” A voice shocked him out of his panic, it was Vaati, a cohort of sorts to Dragmire, “he sending you after the brat?”

Vaati had no real point to be working with the mayor to Warriors knowledge. He knew that he fed the mayor’s pets, but that was about it. Next to him was his younger brother Octavo, both of who wore light purple suits with red accents, though each looked slightly different. They were twins, but one couldn’t tell that by looking at them. Vaati was taller than Octavo by a couple inches, yet Octavo was the more mature one of the two, and more reserved. 

“What’s it to you, bat?!” He spat. Vaati had been a pain in his side for as long as he could remember, always trying to get him in trouble. 

Vaati cackled, “don’t be that way, one call to Dragmire and I could say anything about you, and he would believe it.”

The threat didn’t scare him, Vaati never went through with them. Still, that didn’t stop him from jolting slightly. 

“Vaati,” Octavo rolled his eyes, “come on, we have work to do. Best not to get the mayor angry with us.”

“Find,” he huffed, “have fun on your goose chase, pet. By the way, the goose is causing problems down town, try not to get killed fleeing from birds like the coward you are.”

That hurt. Vaati never let it go after he saw Warriors cower from a chicken. He had been attacked by birds as a child and he never really got over it. He wasn’t a coward, though. Right?

The twins walked away and Warriors finally started his mission. 

——

Link came back one day to see Lana crying. Her face was puffy and she had her hair in a tangled mess from messing with it. This curse was taking its toll on her before it was even cast. All the stress of combing the forces of every kingdom in history was no small feat. 

“What’s the matter?” He asked, setting down his sword and shield from a day of training. 

“Stupid Hero of Time,” she muttered, “stupid Hero of the Wild.”

“It didn’t go well?” He sat down next to here. 

She shook her head, “the Hero of Time refused to even try to remember and the Hero of the Wild attacked me the moment I came out of my portal! Wouldn’t even let me explain. At least Captain Tetra gave me a chance to speak.”

“Who else do you need to ask?”

“I got the Hero of the Four Sword on board a while ago and I already have their documentation,” Lana started to list, “the Hero of the Skies as well. The Hero of Twilight has been jumping around so I still need to find him and Nayru talked to the Hero of Legend for me. The last one I haven’t checked with yet is the Hero of Hyrule.”

“Go deal with him,” Link suggested, “I’ll talk to the Hero of the Wild. He’s a knight, right?”

“Was, so I doubt you could pull rank, if that’s what you were planning, but be careful,” she warned, “his weaponry is even weirder than ours.”

“I doubt it.” He used a spinning death blade in combat, for Hylia’s sake!

——

If someone had asked how Warriors thought his day would go, being struck in the neck by a spoon so hard that he fell on his back would not be his answer. 

“I am so sorry!” The new guy in town, Wild was the name that was floating around, dropped the spoon to clatter on the ground. “Reflexes!”

Warriors rubbed his throat and massaged his head as he stood up. He had just placed a hand on Wild’s shoulder while he was looking the other way to ask him a question and he was attacked.

“Fast reflexes you’ve got,” Warriors tried to laugh. He tried not to stare at the scars on his face, but he couldn’t help but notice the similarities between him and the mayor. 

Wild looked embarrassed, “I’ve been on edge, nearly got murdered by a goose near the shop. Name’s Wild.”

“Warriors, but my real name is-“

“Link?” He guessed, “I am just going to assume everyone here is named Link. What do you need?”

Oh, yes, he had a question for the spoon wielding fiend. People had said that he was hanging around Linkle. 

“Do you know where I can find Linkle?” He asked. 

Wild narrowed his eyes, “why?”

“The mayor is looking for her.”

“And you’re what? The mayor’s assistant?”

He shook his head, “I just work for him, do you know where she is?”

“No,” Wild crossed his arms, “haven’t seen her since yesterday, the Sheriff was running after her.”

“Are you lying?” People said the new guy was only there because of Linkle, he had to know where she was. 

“No!” He looked offended, “why would I lie?”

“You’re her friend.”

“I barely know her! Now, if you’ll excuse me-“

“Stop!” Warriors placed another hand on Wild’s shoulder, this time much tighter than before. 

“Let me go,” Wild gritted his teeth. 

“Tell me the truth,” Warriors stood his ground, “then I will let you go.”

“Let. Me. GO!” Wild went to swing at the man when time froze. 

——

“Calm down,” Link, the Hero of Warriors, raised his hands in defense. Link, the Hero of the Wild had a bow and arrow pointed at the new person’s face. The arrow was glowing blue and sparked with some kind of energy. “I’m not here to hurt you.”

“You with the witch?” He asked softly. 

“She’s a sorceress, but yes,” he said slowly, “we aren’t here to harm you, on the contrary. There’s some news you need to know. There’s a curse-“

“Leave me alone,” the Hero of the Wild muttered, “not interested. No more demons.”

“You don’t have to fight,” he lied, “all we are asking is for you to document your life and then you can remember when the curse causes you to forget your life.”

His eyes glared harshly, “I don’t have a story to tell, I have amnesia. Go, before I fire.”

“Link, listen,” he was starting to get angry, “this isn’t about just you. The fate of the whole world is at stake. You can at least remember something-“

“GO AWAY!” He fired his arrow, but the Hero of Warriors was already gone through a portal at his feet. 

——

Time went back to normal and Wild stumbled away, hand on his forehead and now with a headache. From Warriors’ perspective, he had froze an inch away from his face and fell backwards for no reason. 

What was that? It felt like a memory, but it couldn’t be. Maybe Linkle’s lies were starting to get to him. Maybe that wreck actually messed something up in his head, he was never properly checked for any concussion. 

He sensed someone move in front of him, standing between him and Warriors. 

“Alright, city boy!” It was Twilight, “leave him alone.”

“Country bumpkin,” Warriors sneered, “how’s the farm?”

“Missing a couple of pigs, but luckily just found one.”

Wild vaguely remember Malon telling Sheriff Time the same thing the day before. Like mother like son, he guessed. 

“If you’re looking for Linkle, I saw her in the clock tower,” Twilight continued, “you can go now.”

“Thank you,” Warriors knew he was lying, but he couldn’t get into a fight with two people. He left to check out the tower. 

Twilight turned to Wild and helped him stand up straight, “you okay?”

“Y-yeah, I think so?” The headache was subsiding and the vision vanished from his thoughts, leaving only a lingering hint of what he saw. “Thanks.”

“Let’s go inside,” he gestured to Telma’s diner, “lunch is on me.”

Wild let himself be taken inside, especially since he bought the spoon that he had attacked Warriors with for Telma. She had given him money to go to the store and get her a replacement when her’s broke. He had nothing better to do, so he said yes. 

“Here you go,” he smiled as he handed over the spoon and the five dollars in change. 

“Keep it,” Telma took just the spoon, “thanks for helping out.”

Wild tried to protest, but she walked into the back of the diner before he could say anything. Reluctantly he put the money in his pocket with a sigh. 

“You needed money for your bike, right?” Twilight pointed out, “five bucks closer.”

“Know anyone who’s hiring for quick work?” Wild asked hopefully, but wasn’t expecting an answer. 

“Yes, actually,” he smiled, “how are you at farm work?”

“Okay, I think?” He looked confused at the question. 

“Malon and I need some extra help, since one of our fellow workers left,” he explained, “you could fill that position until we get a permanent replacement.”

Wild gaped like a fish, “that would-that’d be great!”

“Come visit Lon Lon Ranch tomorrow at noon or something, I’ll get you set up.”

“Thanks!” A quiet blanket fell over them as Telma brought Wild and Twilight what they ate yesterday, knowing what they wanted before hand. “So…do you know where Linkle is?”

Twilight smirked, “why? Are you going to tell city boy?”

After the introduction they had, Wild wanted to stay for away from Warriors, or anyone dealing with the mayor that is. Everything about that man seemed creepy. 

“She’s hiding out for the day,” he whispered, “if she isn’t caught for a while then the mayor forgets about her until the next offense. She told me to tell you to take care of the book. Have you been reading it?”

In all honesty, he hadn’t. Every time he even thought about opening the book he felt sick to his stomach. It was nothing but the delusions of a child, yet it was like a phantom haunting him. The book itself was sitting in his bag, just in case he ran into Linkle again. 

“You should read the part of ‘Hyrule Warriors’,” Twilight told him, “it’s actually really interesting, once you meet the people, to see the alternate lives. Warriors is much more brave here than he could ever hope to be, with how much the mayor and Cia run him around.”

“Who’s Cia?”

“Oh, a nasty woman,” he sneered, “if you ever see her, run. She’s Warriors’ parole officer, but the way she acts…”

He shivered. 

“…she might as well be on parole herself. She’s actually the villain in ‘Hyrule Warriors’.”

“You really want me to read the book, don’t you?” Wild pulled out the book and opened to the chapter mentioned. 

“There’s something about it,” Twilight chuckled, “you at least have to appreciate how good of a prank it is.”

Wild found a page where Warriors’ double was, wearing the same armor as the photo that Linkle showed him in ‘A Linked Universe’. He was facing off against a scantily clad woman with a crazed look her in eye. 

——

“Aw, Link,” Cia cooed as she walked closer to the Hero, “I’d thought you’d be happy to see me.”

“Cia,” Link hadn’t seen her since she left to help Lana watch over time together, he thought she had become good, or at least neutral, again, “what are you doing here?”

“I wanted to see you,” she circled him like a vulture, “and to warn you. It’s about Lana.”

What about Lana? Was she okay? Why wasn’t she here with Cia?

“She betrayed us,” she paused suddenly, “she’s working with Demise’s incarnations to bring you and the rest of Hyrule down.”

“What?” He backed away as her hands started to trail his shoulders, “stop that now. Explain.”

She removed her hand with a huff, “fine, but don’t blame me if you start to feel bad for her.”

Cia then spun a world of lies that Link didn’t buy for a second. She said that this whole time Lana had been corrupted too and she was working on a mystical curse that would steal them all away. The whole she kept inching close and closer, breathing on Link’s neck in a way that made him want to bring out his sword. 

“That’s the truth,” she finished, “I swear it.”

Her eyes glinted for a brief second, showing the corruption that had really taken over her a second time. 

“Oh, Cia,” Link frowned and backed away from her, “why?”

“Why what?” She continued the charade, “all I want is for you to be safe, so I had to tell you.”

“Where’s Lana?” He asked, not in the mood. 

She stomped her foot on the stone floor, “off somewhere, planning to destroy the world. Link, I can save both of us, you just have to come with me.”

He took out his sword and pointed it at her, no expression on his face. Cia’s smile only grew more. 

“I gave you an option,” she summoned a portal, “you will be mine, Hero, whether you like it or not.”

Cia vanished and a second later Lana appeared, shouting about Dark Link and curses. 

——

Warriors ran all around town and caught no sight of Linkle. He ran past Vio, who was muttering to himself, and waved at him and only got a sneer in return. He arched wide away from Sky’s bird sanctuary and especially away from the goose who was still causing a ruckus. 

Eventually, he realized that it was pointless and he stopped to sit down on a bench in the town square. He glanced at the statue in the middle of a young girl, apparently the daughter of the town founder who died young, and read the plaque. 

“My Princess,” he read the title, “forever immortalized in her period of youth.”

He had never really looked at the statue before, never noticed the details that went into the dress that she wore, or the the small oddly shaped charms that were on her wrist. He was too busy looking at the statue to notice Vaati come up from behind him. 

“Hello, pet,” he nodded, “why aren’t you working?”

“Vaati,” Warriors turned around, “why are you here?”

“My family was friends with the founder, and his daughter,” he pointed at the statue, “I am here to pay my respects. You have no business here, I’m afraid, so you should get moving.”

Warriors tried to block out the creepy laugh that Vaati always did and he left. Checking his phone he realized he missed a couple of calls from his mom. 

He pressed call and raised his phone to his ear, “hey, ma.”

“Link!” His adoptive mother’s bubbly voice rang. Lana, a woman in her thirties had adopted him when his parents died a long time ago. He couldn’t remember a time without living with her, but she was the best person he knew. “Why haven’t you been answering your phone?”

“I got busy, sorry.”

“It’s alright, I’m only calling because Cia received a complaint.”

He froze. 

“I know what the mayor and her are claiming is false, but please be careful.”

“I don’t know how much longer I can do this, ma,” he admitted, “she keeps…the mayor, he…”

“I know, I know,” Lana said sadly, “but you are almost done, just one more month. Then, we can leave this town and never think of any Dragmire or Cia. How does that sound?”

“Amazing,” he heard heels clicking on the pavement, “I have to go. See you at home.”

“Bye, Link!”

“Warriors,” a woman said from behind him, “what have you been doing today?”

He turned around to see her, Cia, dressed in a wine red pan suit and heels. Her face held too much makeup and her eyes always held a hint of malice. 

“Ms. Cia, ma’am,” he bit the inside of his mouth, “working, as I am supposed to.”

“Didn’t look like it,” she swaggered over, “are you lying to me, Warriors?”

Warriors ignored the question, “can I go now?”

“Sure,” she dragged out the word, “but I’ll be watching.”

He couldn’t get out of there fast enough. He didn’t even notice a blonde girl watching him from the shadows. Cia left and the girl came into the open, it was Linkle. She watched the two go in separate directions, already taking note in how this would affect everything. 

Cia was a villain, Warriors was a hero. She ran away before anyone could see her and she wouldn’t be seen until the next day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, y’all! Y’all miss me? Sorry for procrastinating on this story so much.


End file.
